Deputy Assisting Inmate With Drug Overdose Fell Ill Yesterday in the Mendocino County Jail
Personnel in Hazmat suits after cleaning the inmate’s contaminated cell. [Photo from MCSO]
This is a press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On Tuesday December 8, 2020 at about 9:12 AM, a corrections deputy heard an inmate speaking loudly from one of the cells. The inmate sounded emotional so the deputy went to the cell to see what was happening. The inmate, a 50-year-old male, had just gotten off the telephone and told the deputy that he was upset about the call. The deputy continued a conversation with the inmate in order to assess him and determine if he was okay. During their interaction, the inmate went unconscious and began to snore loudly.
The deputy summoned additional correctional staff and jail medical staff.Once additional deputies arrived, the cell door was opened. The inmate was unconscious and pale. While staff was in the cell, they noticed a plastic bundle containing a suspicious substance. The plastic bundle was removed from the cell as medical staff arrived. Jail medical staff assessed the inmate and immediately administered a dose of NARCAN. After a second dose was administered, the inmate regained consciousness.
Emergency medical services were summoned by jail staff. After fire department and ambulance service personnel arrived, the inmate was transported to an area hospital so that he could be evaluated by emergency department personnel. During the transport, the inmate was given two more doses of NARCAN by the paramedics. The inmate was treated and returned to the jail later in the day.
The discovering corrections deputy returned to the housing unit and continued with his duties. He went back to the inmate’s cell and removed the inmate’s property from the cell.
Shortly after, the deputy began feeling ill. He went to his supervisor and reported that he wanted to go see jail medical staff. The supervisor contacted medical staff and had them respond to the deputy. Jail medical staff examined the deputy and based on their observations, administered a dose of NARCAN to the deputy. The deputy immediately felt better. Jail medical staff requested an ambulance for the deputy so that he could be assessed at the hospital. The deputy was transported to the hospital via ambulance where he was held for observation and released later that same day.
After the incident, the contents of the plastic bundle were tested and came back presumptively positive for fentanyl, a powerful opiate. Specially trained personnel wearing hazardous material protective gear were brought in to decontaminate the cell.
Jail staff also reviewed the phone call that the inmate made just prior to his overdose. During the telephone call, the inmate made comments of hopelessness and was emotional, indicating that the overdose may have been a suicide attempt. Based on that information, jail mental health staff was notified so that a mental health evaluation could be done.
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4 doses… That’s quite an overdose.
He “fell ill”, did he actually fall on the ground ??
😂😂🤣🤣😂🤩🤣😂
How is that funny to you? Your sick minded
Couldnt have been too toxic, looks like a squirt bottle of Simple Green.. more of a show than anything, what really happened?
Opiates, ooh such nasty stuff! One of the guards is bring Narcotics into the jail. Read between the lines, also, if the Deputy did not ingest the drugs, then how did he need narcan? 90% of Drugs in California jails are brought in by the Corrections Officers. They make more being drug couriers than working for the County. He didnt just absorb the drugs through his skin, what is really going on. Ex-addict Sheriff is in control. Anything could be going down….. call in outside investigators instead of sweeping it under the rug. Look deeper
Fentanyl passes through contact. Video 1 at this link shows an officer overdosing on it from contact with it in a motel room. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fentanyl/toolkit.html
Wow, I wonder how much was smuggled into the jail…. hummmm. It takes alot of absorption in my understanding.
Accidental transdermal absorption of fentanyl leading to OD has not been established with scientific rigor, imo. Those who know the most about the subject seem to think it’s virtually impossible: https://harmreduction.org/blog/fentanyl-exposure/
That’s interesting! I wonder why the CDC is providing information indicating it does then.
Why is the cdc manipulating covid numbers?
To the best of my knowledge, it isn’t
I wonder if the video was from a fentanyl lab where drugs were being mixed, it seems rare one would touch a few pills and suddenly feel sick, maybe one or 2 were ingested, you never know, they always stick up for one another and sweep it under the rug
“He didnt just absorb the drugs [fentanyl] through his skin,….”
Sure, the hazmat suits for the fentanyl cleanup were just for show.
Fentanyl is orders of magnitude more potent than heroin.
I think mendocino jail is nasty and cold .the deputies don’t give A shit about any of the inmates for real they do bring those street drugs in the jails and exspecialliy the prisons .they really supply them in there .and every one looks the othet way .why is that
How fucked up is our justice system and everyone just looks the other way .why cant they just do the right thing and treat a drug addic like a sickness amd put them were they need to go not jail or prison .come on .
Wow, you obvious have no knowledge of fentanyl and how dangerous it is. I’ll give you a hint though, bud, why do you think the people who had to clean it up were wearing biohazard suits and respirators? Ever hear those stories that happened to several officers over the decades where they raid a drug house and end up high on meth or LSD through indirect content just being in the room. Now imagine that but instead of tripping out or tweaking you just die because it’s fentanyl.
Yes, but that is from direct contact with chemicals associated, not touching a few pills, lsd is easily absorbed through the skin, fentanyl is not, meth chemicals can be, lets not group all drugs together as if they have the same chemistry make up. The community has every right to question what is happening with the public servants working in our local jail. This is true democracy, look at the $5 million dollar lawsuit that came out of our county funds because some dipshit unprofessional guards at Mendocino County Jail thought it was funny to tease and taunt a man having a mental health crisis.
The brother of a Mendocino County man who died while being restrained at the jail has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $5 million in an agreement that requires two law enforcement agencies to provide new training procedures for handling people in crisis.
Steven Neuroth, 55, of Ukiah died after his June 11, 2014, arrest when he was being held facedown on the ground, with his hands handcuffed and ankles shackled, by law enforcement officers in a sobering cell at the Mendocino County Jail as a medical staff member watched.
Before the death, the arresting officer from the Willits Police Department is shown in a jail video joking about Neuroth, who was described by his family’s lawyer as a schizophrenic man in psychiatric crisis, and laughing about his fear of snakes with a vocational nurse there to evaluate his well-being.
“Walk up there and say ‘Ah, snakes!’ Funniest thing you’ve ever seen,” said Officer Kevin Leef, who is now a sergeant.
“Should’ve let him get hit by a car,” said Jennifer Caudillo, the vocational nurse
Yeah, so of course our community has very real concerns about the conduct of CO’s and Mendo Sheriffs, and, rightly so, they have proven time and time again they can not be trusted! Read More Below:
Mendocino County jail death results in $5 million settlement
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9381662-181/mendocino-county-jail-death-results/
All you have to do is touch it with your hands. I know first hand. I was impressed with the feeling.
Dang that’s an ugly story. The only good thing in it is that no one died. I hope the officer suffers no lasting harm.
Sounds like what occurred was a “half-assed” attempt at searching the inmate upon intake.
Most drugs in California Drugs are smuggled in by Corrections officers. It is a huge racket involving organized crime. C/O’s are paid on the outside ….
Remember this guy?https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2011/sep/10/eureka-police-officer-daniel-kalis-pled-no-contest/
ooof. cant see the photo in my phone or cpu. i wonder if they were asked to take it down or is it just me?
I cant see it either. Weird, huh?
Yup still not available. I think its pretty safe to assume this is the thick blue tumor protecting their own again with the help of loco. Pathetic
You pricks are never ok with an explanation of what happened. Take down the comment section Kym…..its the social media of Humboldt and is not doing any good for your county. Are you afraid of losing half of your viewers so you keep the comment section around? Your news is great. Your commentary people are fueling the fire of our Emerald Triangle problems. You f*cks would have no idea what to do with your day if it wasn’t for this toxic comment section.
And you’re contributing in a positive way? Get over yourself!
What part doesnt your Mendo Mafia like, the comments on drug smuggling, get over it…. Freedom of Speech is an American Tradition, dont like it, move to China
Were all pricks for asking questions . Hahahahaha
Boo.. fucking… hoo. Because there are no crooked cops in the Triangle, right? Give me a break!
🥳 MENDOMAFIA
We have all learned to always question the “official version”, especially from local law enforcement. There has been a violent war waged against our local communities by these very same Sheriff Departments since the 1850’s. They have proven time and time again they are not to be trusted, they are not our friends!
We should all be very-very thankful for Kym Kemps Redhead Blackbelt. This is one of the very best commentary sites for local news in the entire country. Thank you Kym for always allowing your community to voice their opinion and for giving us all this venue and platform. Free speech keeps truth flowing and ideas flowing .
I know, everyones freedom of speech should be limited because someone with opposing views might be offended. 🤣🤣🤣
What happened to newspapers where exchange of comments was not allowed, these good old boys clubs around Mendo and Humboldt are so threatened by the free speech that is allowed on this website. They want us all isolated buying the “official police version” 100%, with no questions asked, as if we live in a 1940s and 1950s version of Pleasantville where the police never lie, there is no corruption, and everybody accepts the “official narrative” that the Government offers, Chy-Na and North Korea is ran like this, and the people buy it. The people bought it Mendocino And Humboldt right up untill the Back to the Land Movement questioned everything including the destructive practices of this counties logging industries.
The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society
Since the founding of this country, a totalitarian, closed form of government has been considered unacceptable and un-American. The public assumes they have the freedom to be left alone and to live a life in privacy, while the government is believed to be open and transparent, humbly serving the people.
In reality, this patriotic belief is no longer true: it now appears that we are to serve the political class as our personal lives are forced to become more transparent – while the decision makers operate in complete secrecy.
In a 1961 speech, John F. Kennedy spoke accurately about the dangers of a secret society and warned the American public that there are those among us eager to misuse power in the name of security.
“The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning”
Power is truly intoxicating to some, and the most effective way for them to expand their demand for power is by frightening others and creating an impression that the chronic intrusion into our personal lives is solely for national security purposes.
However, until two years ago, we had no idea that our government was protecting us through domestic spying programs, because it was all conducted behind closed doors, shrouded in secrecy.
Under the pretense of national security, perhaps the most egregious violation of transparency by a federal agency is the bulk collection of our metadata by the National Security Agency (NSA).
There is ample evidence to suggest that this organization does as it pleases, outside of the law, and will only continue to grow under the executive branch, simply to have its unconstitutional actions consistently reinforced by the Supreme Court when challenged.
The NSA has not accomplished much, despite operating at enormous expense to the taxpayer.
Those pushing complete surveillance unceasingly emphasize the need for the NSA to protect the Homeland, despite the fact that bulk collection of phone records has not stopped a single terrorist attack; not one. Any planned attacks were thwarted through traditional means, such as good police or investigative work, according to the government’s own reports and congressional testimony.
It is possible to have safety and security without violating our civil liberties.
Looking sociologically at the consequences of NSA’s actions deserves close attention. The NSA’s spying on ordinary Americans has had a profound chilling effect in several ways.
No longer do people feel comfortable expressing their private thoughts with friends and family. Couples no longer discuss important issues over the phone, fearing what is recorded and permanently stored by the NSA, and family members constantly remind each other to watch what they type over their computers.
It is important to note that privacy is basic a human right and elicits a stronger society.
Computer security expert, Jacob Applebaum, who worked on the Tor network says, “When we lose privacy, we lose agency.” He explains that Americans wrongly believe that the state will only target “the other.” Thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden, we now know that is no longer true and we are “the other.”
Due to corrupt decisions made by the political class, supported by a frightened and complicit populace, privacy is dead.
Furthermore, as the fabric of our country is intricately changing, people no longer feel that they can even express their discontent with their own government for fear of retribution. Those fears were confirmed last year, and made national news, when the IRS targeted conservative organizations.
Most of us were taught that adhering to our founding documents, such as the Bill of Rights, was precisely what made America so uniquely special – what past generations knew needed to be safeguarded with a watchful eye.
In contrast, today, what sort of legacy will be left behind for our children? It is difficult to explain to them that government agencies, functioning in secret, spying on them, operating through unconstitutional means, deserve billions of tax dollars each year.
Totalitarian regimes throughout history used secrecy and fear as a powerful weapon, and all regimes operate under the pretense of national security. They say they are protecting us, they say they are keeping us safe, and cleverly convince the public that’s what the American people want.
It is not so much that the government is taking our freedoms, as we are willingly (and perhaps unwittingly) forfeiting them. Through illusion and manipulation, many Americans idly believe we still live in a country where chanting in unison and flag waving are believed to be the definition of freedom and patriotism.
We would do well to heed JFK’s early warning to scrutinize the excessive secrecy of government entities and their invasion into our private lives.
It is only with an acute awareness and a change in consciousness among the American people that the next generation will have the opportunity to live in a free society.
Let’s just get rid of everything YOU don’t like, mmmkay?
How many others have heard of drugs being smuggled into local jails by corrections officers ? This is not a new phenomenon, speak up! How many of you have heard of crooked law enforcement officers stealing and taking bribe and kickback money from organized crime? Lets get real!
I just want to give a shout out to two Mendocino County Law Enforcement Personnel. Ernie….and Scroggins, (Your mama was so proud of you!) You know who you are. Thanks for being nice and kind. I know its hard to be good people when you’re surrounded by not good people. I found myself saying a prayer for you both today. Police are in a unique position of authority and could really help people be better people and make an enormous difference in someones life by not only setting an example by the way they live but actually caring about people and trying to HELP the ones that can be helped. But we very rarely see that anymore. I do agree that LEO seem to be way bigger criminals than all the cccccriminals put together only they get to use a badge and a gun. Basically a license to commit their crimes. But there is a good one in the bunch! If you know a good one or one who has been genuinely nice,say so! Encourage that one today! And pray for them!
Fentanyl Handling Guidelines ; Maybe the Corrections Officers should check this out:
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/fentanyl.html
What precautions can be taken if hazardous drugs are suspected? General safe work practices include: Assess for hazards and risks before performing activities. If you are not sure, do not touch or handle any product. Notify a supervisor where possible. Move away from the area. Do not allow the product to become air-borne or aerosolize. Do not eat, drink, smoke, or use the bathroom while working in an area with known or suspected fentanyl. Do not touch your eyes, mouth, or nose after touching any surface that may be contaminated with fentanyl. Know how to recognise opioid intoxication in yourself and others. Low level risk handling Low level risk involves situations where the drugs are in tablet form and less than 1 gram. Be cautious when handling any suspected drug. Wear properly fitting personal protective equipment. Be trained on how to wear, use and remove the PPE. FentanylSafety.com recommends: Wrist and arm protection*, including nitrile gloves (wear thick or two sets of gloves if possible) and long sleeves or a water resistant jacket or disposable coveralls a fit tested N95** mask or air purifying respirator safety goggles or safety glasses Do not taste, feel or smell suspected drugs. Moderate level risk handling Moderate level risk involves situations where drugs are found in quantities bigger than when pre-packaged for street level distribution. Wear properly fitting personal protective equipment. Be trained on how to wear, use and remove the PPE. “FentanylSafety.com” recommends: nitrile gloves (double up is possible)* disposable coveralls* a fit tested air purifying respirator** safety goggles or safety glasses Always work with a second person when handling suspected drugs. *NOTE: Wrist or arm protection may include on-duty uniform with sleeves, sleeve covers, gowns or coveralls. **NOTE: NIOSH recommends an N, R or P100 mask in moderate “Pre-hospital patient care” and “Law enforcement routine duties” situations. These recommendations can be exceeded if the hazard identification and risk assessment process indicates areas of concern. No matter which type of PPE is used, it is essential to have a PPE program in place. For more information about PPE programs, please see Designing an Effective PPE Program.